The mission of the SOC program is to equip graduate students with advanced up-to-date theoretical and methodological knowledge in sociology and anthropology. The program seeks to achieve its mission through a focus on the critical traditions and schools that constitute the core of sociology and anthropology and their developments to the present day. The program addresses the complexity of the interrelations between local Arab and global contexts, enabling students to conduct in-depth and critical research on contemporary social phenomena in Arab contexts and beyond. The program aims to contribute to sociological and anthropological knowledge from a modern Arab perspective.
One of the pillars of the DI's vision is to produce critical knowledge about Arab societies and cultures from specific Arab contexts while aiming too for a universal horizon of knowledge. The goals of the SOC program are derived from this pillar. They translate into a study program that aims to educate students to become productive and critical researchers, civil servants, and professionals in the third and private sectors in their countries of origin and internationally. The specific goals of the program are the following:
- Students will acquire an in-depth and critical knowledge of the main subfields of sociology and anthropology.
- Students will be able to design and conduct sociological and anthropological research projects independently.
- Students will be prepared to qualify for admission to PhD programs in leading universities around the world.
- Students will be prepared to qualify for working in the public as well as the third and private sectors in their home countries and international job markets.
- Students will have the reflective and critical abilities to locate major problems in their societies and cultures and engage with them publicly as active citizens committed to the public good.
These goals form the general framework of the program mission. In order to translate this into a concrete study plan, we determined a set of 20 program learning outcomes (PLOs), or objectives.
The SOC program has been accredited by FIBAA on June 2020.
Sociology and Anthropology Program Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical, philosophical, and theoretical frameworks of sociology and anthropology from the early 19th century to the present day, along with the key questions, issues, trends and advancements emerging within these two fields.
2. Analyze the conditions and influences affecting Arab societies, including, but not limited to, how language, ethnicity, religion, geopolitics, and technologies have shaped socio-cultural constructs within the Arab Region and its relations to other societies.
3. Critically examining contemporary broad sociological and anthropological issues and topics, including, but not limited to, identity, gender, migration and citizenship, political transition, and social change.
4. Deconstruct social and cultural phenomena, applying a critical examination of its elements, to formulate original arguments.
5. Design, conduct and present research of complex questions in sociology and anthropology based on in-depth and critical understanding of advanced qualitative and quantitative methods.
